Blog

Why Pudding?

I’m working on a cookbook about pudding. I’m extremely excited about this fact, but to tell you the truth: I’d love forget all about it. And then, when it shows up on my porch next spring, replete with lush photos from Stacy Newgent, recipe tips from some lovely friends and cookbook authors, and beautifully sketched design by the inestimable Amy Sly and my publisher, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, it will be a total surprise. A little gift to someone who just really loves pudding.

Blood orange fluff, with chocolate on top.

There aren’t many books about pudding and no-bake desserts, a fact that genuinely surprised me, as I gravitate towards those simple, old-fashioned desserts you can slurp off a spoon. Pudding was either too old-fashioned for modern tastes, or too fancified with restaurant-style panna cotta intimidating home cooks (which is ridiculous because panna cotta is about as easy as pouring a bowl of cereal and milk — no kidding).

I would love to forget that I wrote recipes for Blood Orange Fluff (take a gander at that just above), Roasted Pistachio Pudding, and Triple Chocolate Cream Icebox Cake. I’d like to pull it out this brand new book and make No-Bake Crème Brulee or Walnut, Fig & Barley Pudding, with no memory of sweating over them in development.

I think this is what every cookbook author wants — a fresh enjoyment of the recipes that she created, tested, and tasted over and over again. After all, these recipes cater to my own taste quite a bit, and I’d love to enjoy them freshly, without remembering how many times I worked over that Maple Bourbon Budino to smooth out its grainy texture. I’d rather just dip my spoon in and enjoy the sweetness.

But this actually is just what I get to do; there’s a year now, after I finish off my last bits of testing and review and editing and back and forth with Natalie my editor. Nearly a year to forget all about pudding, so I can enjoy it that much more when that lovely book lands in my lap. It’s the sweetest moment, for a cookbook author.